Newly published author, Randy Schmidt, age 25, has fed his appetite for travel with two trips to Europe, but plans to continue traveling with his family and fueling his imagination and inspiration for upcoming novels.

C.S. Lewis once said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Who would have known that what Lewis was saying would be true for Sinton native Randal “Randy” Schmidt?

Randy, son of Robert and Robin Schmidt of Sinton, developed a strong imagination as a child, according to his mother.

“Randy always read; he would devour every piece of literature he could get his hands on,” Robin said.

Randy graduated from Sinton High School and went on to continue his education at Texas A&M University-College Station, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and history in 2011. The Schmidt family has slowly progressed at developing an ‘Aggie Family Tradition’ by having Randy’s father, two older brothers, Wesley and Andrew, and himself graduate from the university. His little sister, Lily, currently attends A&M, as well.

It was at college that Randy met his wife of four years, Brett. Though Brett is younger than Randy, she herself is very intelligent, as she earned her master’s degree in drama in 2010, faster that her word enthusiast husband. The couple live near Dallas, where Randy teaches English at Frost High School, and Brett teaches theater at James L. Collins Catholic School in Corsicana. Aside from enjoying their careers in education, Randy and Brett are happily awaiting the arrival of their first child, James Michael, who is expected to make his debut in November.

Life doesn’t stop there for Randy, who just released his first publication “The Lands Beyond the Moon” on Aug. 11.

“I was writing every single day, so it was a challenge for me,” Randy said. “Being a teacher has allowed me to have summers off to collate my thoughts and have time to myself.”

Though the bulk of the book only took 23 days to write, revising and obtaining a finished product took a little over nine months, but with the support of his wife and family, Randy was able to accomplish becoming a published author.

“My wife is very supportive about my writing,” Randy said. “She is my first and best critic. She read every draft and helped me revise it. She is my first reader and my most valued reader.”

“The Lands Beyond the Moon” is the story about a boy named Fritz, who goes on an adventure in search of finding himself and finds God in the process. Randy’s inspiration for the book was born from his childhood imagination that always wrapped him up in searching for adventure and unknown things, searching beyond the horizon.

“It’s all about adventure,” Randy said. “I’ve always had this hunger or appetite for traveling, and then I realized I also had this desire that couldn’t be satisfied, until I found God.”

The appetite Randy refers to is something, he believes, everyone has and tries to fill with many other things, but it all comes down to finding a spiritual connection with God. Randy, who is 25, was searching for some form of happiness and found it when he developed this relationship with God.

Raised a Baptist, Randy and his wife remained religious (she was raised Methodist), converting to Catholicism. His religious and imaginative background, which is thought to have driven him to become the author he is today, goes back to times when Randy’s mother recalls him and his buddy, Matthew Blankenship, drawing out stories on offering envelopes during sermons. “Randy has a big imagination,” Robin said. “He always said he would write a book, and now he’s done it. We’re just really proud of him.”

Also having an appetite for traveling, Randy has taken two trips to Europe, which, he says, has been everything he expected. His first trip to Europe was as a junior in high school with former Coach Gene Kasprzyk, which added fuel to the fire in his desire for traveling. Randy and Brett were able to revisit Europe in June for two weeks and plan on making traveling a new family goal after little James is born.

Though the character Fritz is fictional in this story, Randy can’t help but admit that he does have a little bit of himself in his character.

“In high school, Mark Goyet and I were really close friends growing up in Sinton,” Randy said. “I haven’t spoken about his death since it happened in 2011, but this book was really a way for me to express and deal with all the emotions and pain that I’ve had inside me for all these years.”

The Lands Beyond the Moon is partially dedicated to the memory of Goyet, a former Sintonnite, Marine and friend.

Randy doesn’t have any book signings scheduled yet, but is trying to find time to schedule a visit back to his hometown. In addition to the release of “The Lands Beyond the Moon”, Randy is currently working on a fantasy series called “Cordelia.” The trilogy, according to Randy, is about a young girl who has to save her dad, who has been wrongly arrested by some evil political element. Though he has completed the first book of the series, Randy will wait until the entire trilogy is complete before he releases it. In the meantime, “The Lands Beyond the Moon” is available as an e-book and in paperback through Amazon. To learn more about Randy or his new book, visit his website at http://www.randalwilliamschmidt.com.